Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi Suspended

Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi was on Monday suspended from her office at the House over graft claims.

Speaker Elachi and the County Assembly Clerk Jacob Ngwele were asked to step aside by the Nairobi County Assembly Service Board following a near fist fight over multi-million tenders.

"As a board, we have resolved that Elachi and Ngwele should step aside pending investigations," Majority Leader Abdi Guyo announced.

The suspension came a day before a section of Members of County Assembly (MCAs) had agreed to table an impeachment motion against the speaker.

[caption caption="File image of Speaker Beatrice Elachi"][/caption]

One of the controversial properties that pitted Elachi against the clerk was the purchase of her Karen residence.

According to Guyo, the MCAs are in possession of an audio recording in which the officials are heard negotiating to inflate the cost of the Karen house by Ksh30 Million.

Following an agreement at the House to stop paying rent as directed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the multi-million house in Karen was identified.

Clerk Ngwele refused to approve the purchase of the house and claims that the disapproval caused the enmity between him and Elachi.

The Speaker claims that the purchase was halted after the assembly realised that they had not done much for residents to warrant the purchase.

"I know I'm fighting an old board which is very adamant. If there was truth to their claims they should have raised an issue back in February, why wait till now?" she posed.

[caption caption="County Clerk Jacob Ngwele administers the oat of office to Speaker Beatrice Elachi"][/caption]

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